18 April 2012

Andy Carroll continues to polarise opinion amongst Liverpool fans and ex-players, but after scoring two crucial winning goals in the last two games, Liverpool legend John Aldridge believes that the 35m striker may have finally turned the corner.

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo earlier this week, Aldridge - who last week branded Liverpool 'embarrassing' and a 'laughing stock' - admitted that he was 'absolutely delighted' that Carroll scored the winning goal against Everton last weekend, and insisted that the improvements in his game were there for all to see:

"[Carroll] has taken more criticism than just about anybody at Liverpool this season, and so much of it has been way over the top. You can see how much he has improved his all-round game. He was unplayable at times on Saturday, and hopefully now the goals are starting to come"

I disagree that the criticism has been 'over the top'; Carroll has deserved all the criticism he's received this season, and scoring two goals in two games doesn't make up for the lack of impact during the rest of the season.

Carroll has 8 goals from 42 appearances this season, which is just not good enough overall. He deserves credit for his last two goals, but as a result of his failure to score regularly during the season, Liverpool are languishing near mid-table in the league.

Hopefully, Carroll's confidence will be sky high now, and he'll push on and start producing on a consistent basis, but I still hope the club cut their losses and sell him in the summer.

Why? I just can't stomach the idea of a Liverpool team being set-up to accommodate a footballer as limited as Carroll. The club is built on a pass and move philosophy, and that isn't possible with him in the team. Pass and move goes out of the window, and the emphasis switches to getting as many crosses/high balls into the box as possible.

I don't want Liverpool to be a 'hoof it forward to the big-man' team, and that's what needs to happen if the club is to consistently get the best out of the Carroll. The club's attack should be built around mobile, athletic, skillful, technically gifted players who are comfortable on the ball, and Carroll just doesn't fit the bill.

It's one of those tricky situations where the improvement of the individual will be detrimental to overall on-field progress of the club.

95 comments:

There's no "turning corners". I've seen that said about players for more than a decade, and not seen any player who "turned a corner" from being a flop to being a success at Liverpool.

Regarding Carroll: I thought he was (finally) good when he played two flick-ons that resulted in goals in two successive games in Winter, and I thought that was the way we needed to play him. But he's again and again deployed (or drifts) out of that area to wings and centre.

I Agree we should move Carroll on along with Downing Adam and Henderson and of course Dalglish.

John Henry believes strongly in the the MONEY BALL system of player purchasing etc.I'm certain that Dalglish doesn't buy into the Money ball system so there is going to be a showdown and my money is on Henry.The statistics used by Henry was implemented and we got Adam Henderson Downing Carroll.There is a case to say it's unproven to work in the Premier League or in the Football in general.

Andy Carroll's contribution to the game has improved but bare in mind he's been with LFC for 16 months.His ratio of assist, completed passes and GOALS is not good enough for a £35 million pounds or in fact for £10 million pounds when compared to Demba Ba or Cisse at Newcastle.

I'll add that the buy British philosophy should GO NOW.

I'm also curious to know what J.W HENRY is coming back without Tom Werner today who remains in the USA.

I'm convinced that John Henry wants Dalglish out and is looking for the excuse to do it.I don't think he was done with Comolli and get the impression that should we not win the FA CUP and finish 8th (very strong possibility), that he will have the justification he needs.

It seems as if Henry is taking the bull by the horns and directly dealing with the issues of LFC.Finally, I don't think there is going to be a Director of Football.

I strongly think that there will be a New Manager in place by the beginning of next season.Even though I have argued that Dalglish will struggle on until Xmas this year to be sacked or stand down.

Yes Andy Carroll was rightly criticised this season but I think the magnitude of it was unfair. I for one thought he was a great buy from Newcastle but didn't think it would take him so long to settle. Liverpool supporters will now get behind him because he is so determined to do well and I'm sure he'll be a great asset to the team.

Pity Craig Bellamy is unable to start every game but the manager got it right on Sunday so let's give both manager and player the credit they are due for that.

I'd like to see how he gts on for the reaminder of the season. i have been pleasantly surprised in recent weeks with his attitude and form to be honest - if he carries on like this till end fo the season and puts away another 4 or 5 goals, i think he would warratn another year at the club. Not as the spearhead of the attack but would be useful as a squad player at least. he has done well recently to be honest, and I have been a big critic of his this season. The price tag has been his biggest problem - if we had got him for £15m then I don't think Carroll would be criticised as much

Adam, Henderson and Downing will just never be good enough for Liverpool however!

HAH...No one is giving comments probably due to your pathetic one sided perspective and wishing everyone agreeing with you,Try to see what others see in different angle,that's what's all about on blog,debate and discussion,different perspective different comments kanwar.

Half of you are a disgrace.Criticising player,management,owners, absolutely everyone when you should look at yourself.you prob dont even come to anfield and hardly invest in the club.start supporting the 3 mentioned above and you mite start actually love the club

Carroll has deserved all the criticism he's got, if Liverpool had a decent striker instead of Carroll, then they would have been 3rd or 4th in the league. If only we had bought one in January window, it would have changed our season.

When a player cost £35m, he is bound to be under pressure from the off. Its just the way it is and rightly so.

He deserves most of the criticism he gets (such as his lazy movement in and around the box (very poor at attacking the six yard area when getting on the end of crosses) and lack of technical ability for a £35m front man is not good enough) but I do think he needs to be trusted more by KK as he doesn't get a proper run in the side (3 consecutive games is the highest number of consecutive games he has had for us I think), especially alongside Suarez. KK's implied thinking is confusing as he likes to play a pass-n-move style but brings in Carroll, who likes a more direct game and whenever one of our defenders see him up front, they get tempted into hoofing the ball up to him. To be fair, the hoofing has been very useful as seen against Manure in the FA Cup and when we looked a better threat when he came on against Spurs with the long balls to him. He has his uses but some of those contradictory to the style that KK seemingly wants the team to play, those doesn't excuse entirely the negative parts to Carroll's game and performances.

He has improved to a certain extent but he is a long way off being a £35m striker still and it remains to be seen whether he truly fits in KK's ideal playing style.

Sometimes you make me wonder... The players you want, we have one in Suarez, but you also want to get rid of him? Do you think if we sell Carroll and Suarez, that Hazard and messi will suddenly get interested? You need to learn a certain thing called SUPPORT

Yeah but you criticise everyone and everything associated with Liverpool jaimie. Rafa got slagged off despite what he achieved, you said Roy was not the right man before he started and you are now having a go at kenny every post. Everyone who disagrees with you is labelled an adoring, mindless fan who can't see the reality. You wanted Martin o'neill for the job not for his tactical nous but for his motivation skills, surely kenny's credentials in this respect have proven to be superior yet now he's not good enough. You wanted us to play better football which we have done for the most part this season. You claim you want to give managers time but have not time for kenny now

who are you to say me and others i am a born and bred liverpool fan FROM LIVERPOOL and i agree with adrain lucas was awful and now i cannot wait to see him back he is 1 of our top midfielder i would pick him over every1 but gerrard but the way hes been playing lately i wud pick lucas over him !!!!!

Rubbish! Aims you set perhaps. Lucas has developed into one of the best DM's in the world. For club that has just avoided administration in 2010, Liverpool are doing fine. FSG are doing a great job in turning the club around. Im sorry for all you "supporters" who think that we should be winning the league, CL and all cups every year whilst signing Higuain, Cavani and Aguero. Glory hunters should find another club. Real Liverpool supporters stand by their club. YNWA!

There is a fine line a fan has to tread between being a supporter of Liverpool and criticizing the team, management and owners. The same rules dont apply to Chelsea, Man City or clubs with no class. Some of the comments and articles on this site seem preserved from the Hicks/Gillette/Hodgson Era. Just not the Liverpool way to unanimously denounce players and management. Second nature to letting them walk alone I suppose?

Might be a case of absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that, especially with the way his replacements have attempted to run the midfield during his absence. Definitely a good and important player Lucas, though not as good as Masch, for me anyway

For the hundredth time: if you don't like it, don't moan to me about; go to another Liverpool site where they post stuff that validates your opinion, and reinforces your personal views on LFC. There are posters on sites like TIA, RAWK, SCM, TLW etc who would welcome you with open arms into slag-off sessions about how I'm a manc in disguise etc. Seems right up your street, so why not go there and moan?

* I always give managers time. Unlike many fans, I haven't called for Dalglish to be sacked; I've suggested that stand down in the summer. He's been here for 18 months, but the way, not 5 minutes.

* I didn't criticise Benitez until his third season, and it was deserved. And I did not 'slag' him off - typical blinkered response - I critiqued his management, and always did so without being personal, and with evidence (where possible)

* Yes, I wanted O'Neill, and still believe he would've done a better job than Dalglish if he'd been given the job 18 months ago.

If you want to debate the issue then please do; if you're going to persist with pointlessly moaning about my approach, then your comments will be deleted.

Ah, yet another brainwashed superfan telling everyone else how to support the club.Pray tell, what exactly is a 'real Liverpool supporter' (PS. When you reply, don't forget to put YNWA at the end of your comment again, just to underline the fact that you're a 'true fan'.)

There are hundreds of strikers in world football who could come in do well for Liverpool; or are you suggesting that the club can't survive without Carroll and Suarez?

One player I would definitely go for is Jordan Rhodes; absolutely superb goalscorer, and would be a far superior option to Carroll. If both Carroll and Suarez were to go, we'd probably get a combined 40-45m, so there are lots of strikers in that price range who could come in.

Thats what the haters said about Gomez. Now look at him. One of the most feared strikers full stop. Very limited understanding to try and argue that the only way caroll can function is if we hoof the ball forward. he has looked really good for the last couple of games and its nice to see that he is getting the shit makers of his back somewhat.

Limited understanding? Do me a favour. There is zero evidence from this season that Carroll has the technique, balance, mobility or skill to become a top European striker. All the evidence shows that he is uncoordinated, poor technically, poor at passing, and doesn't score/create enough goals (and the OPTA stats back all of this up)

Comparing him to Gomez is like comparing Stewart Downing to Lionel Messi.

Is it true, Jaimie, that you wanted Martin O'Neill? Well, well, after an excellent start his bubble may not be burst but it is certainly deflated. What was the score against Everton? 4-0 ? And the score against Wolves, who have been shipping goals like they are going out of fashion?

Every single time I turn on the radio, read the newspapers on line or watch SSN it is always, ALWAYS, £35M Carroll, never just plain old Andy Carroll. You, Jaimie, could not resist the temptation of referring to him as the '35M striker'. For pity's sake give it a rest.

I'll give you a simple scenario: Carroll was actually a Chelsea player displaying the sort of form he did at Newcastle. Chelsea offer Carroll plus £15M for Torres and LFC agree to the deal because the No.9 wants to leave. £15M plus Andy Carroll? Nobody would have batted an eyelid. Putting it another way; LFC got silly money for Torres and paid silly money for Carroll. Get over it!Finally, how many goals has £50M Torres scored for Chelsea?

Not that I'm completely against seeing both leaving (I'd prefer Suarez to stay) I just don't thing we can risk signing 'may become good' players anymore. We've now wasted 3 seasons struggling to do better than average.In the summer if Carroll, Kuyt and Adam can go and we bring in 3 or 4 quality signings (2 free or very cheap and 2 world class)For exemple Soldado & Adam Johnson for around 40M + Hoilett & Keita on a free

I think all the pundits should hold their horses before proclaiming Carroll has turned the corner and finally coming good. No doubt his movement and positioning in the last games was much better and he gets into scoring position.

But we need to see him consistently playing at a high level and not a one off 2 games. So, lets not get carried away.

he needs a good run of games to get to grips with the pass and move way. in training you can practice, but its matches where you truly learn,against real opposition. if after a good length of time of regular starting, if he still hasn't got to grips,then you can say maybe we are not right for each other. i don't think 5mins or 10mins helps anyone and i hate that about kd and rafa...in fact any manager. a player cannot generally pick up the pace straight away coming on as sub..and yes,confidence plays a huge part.

Gomez has been scoring goals for years with Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. Carroll had half a good season in the Premier League. He had one bad season in the Bundesliga (his first at Bayern) and he was also in the shadow of an on form Klose.

Gomez can control the ball, he's quick, he's clever, gets into good positions, doesn't fall over every time he's touched, doesn't waste half the match complaining to the ref, has a much better haircut, has a much better understanding of the short passing game.

Carroll has scored two goals and suddenly he's as good as a guy who's scored 30+ this season and 13 in the last 10? Please...

There seemed to be no problems denouncing Hodgson before he even got the job and Rafa was bombarded with criticism in his last season. Where was the Liverpool way then? This "don't criticize the manager" trend has gotten far stronger under Dalglish because he's got everyone hypnotised under a shroud of nostalgia.

The money is always mentioned whenever Carroll is brought up because it was a huge amount that he, so far, has not nearly repaid, and unless you are Chelsea or Man City you can't afford many payouts of that size.

Chelsea may have covered the cost of it with the purchase of Torres but its still a lot of money that Liverpool could have pocketed until the end of the season and invested then when the value would have been better.

Suarez hasn't exactly been all that prolific himself this season either though. People talk about Carroll not justifying his fee but Suarez hasn't really done all that much either and caused a lot of problems along the way.

At half time, I posted a video of Jelavic's goal, and stated a fact, i.e. a defensive mistake led to a goal. You didn't see any articles after the game because you are clear;y blind. I posted two articles - both positive - within a few hours of the game finishing.

Fair comment, but I note that you said 'so far'. Let's just wait and see shall we. Demba Ba had a phenomenal record initially at Newcastle but has now failed to score for 10 games. It happens to all strikers. Remember the barren spell Alan Shearer had for England and then along came Euro 96. It is much fairer to quote 47 'appearances' rather than 'games' in the case of Carroll because the majority of his appearances have been as a late, very late, substitute.How many of us wanted him to be substituted after his awful miss? Perhaps we are finally beginning to see what he can do with an extended run. Only time will tell.

I'm starting to think the defence of many players is linked to the Kenny Dalglish Fan Club.In that if Kenny think there good then we should accept his word.Carroll is POOR AND NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE STARTING 11! END OF

Jaimie, are you ok?!?! you sound insane. You think Suarez is going to leave this summer, and you want him to, but you also want to see LFC sell Carroll?!?!?!?!Do you seriously think Damiao will be enough?!?! Damn man, even if you don't like them, you need to sound more rational. You stupid moron, think about it.

The difference in Crouch and Carroll,Crouch can control a ball and Crouch cost £7m when Rafa bought him and Rafa was villified in the media and by the anti-Rafa brigade.At the price Crouch could also be used as a squad player.Not so Carroll if you break the British transfer record and buy the 8th most expensive player ever he needs to be a regualr starter and regular scorer.At the price we cant just throw him on for the last 5 minutes as a last resort,not even Man City could afford to do that.

Gomez didn't get that much grief, nowhere near the amount Carroll has deservedly got. Because he showed plenty of good form prior to joining in a good long period, around 1 in 2 ratio of goalscoring. Yes, his first season at Bayern wasn't a great success but instead of having a mere 6 months to call upon in terms of prior experience in a top tier league like Carroll before joining present club, he had 3 or 4 seasons of good regular first team action under his belt in Bundesliga with Stuttgart, before joining Bayern. Hence he didn't get as much grief as Carroll, nor were people as pessimistic about him in relation to fulfilling his fee, like most are about Carroll. Add to that, unlike Carroll, Gomez was always and is technically a solid player.

To compare Gomez' situation to Carroll's is just odd, really odd, as the circumstances are different, their background experience is different and the differences in their talent, etc. Gomez was definitely a lot more 'proven' at the time of joining of Bayern, than Carroll was at the time of joining us.

There's Souch wrong with your response it's embarrassing and simply confirms my view. You want debate but your stock answer to something you don't like is 'go elsewhere then'. If we all did you would not have your soap box pal. Go to RAWK as thy post things that validate my opinion, what is my opinion exactly? You have no idea as have haven't given it other than on your negativity. That's a legitimate comment that is made by many. You claim you want civilised debate that attacks the argument and not the person but attack me and everyone else when it suits you, therefore confirming our view

The problem seems to be the price tag .. Had he cost 7 million like Crouch then i'm sure the criticsm wouldn't be (like the price tag) 1/5 as much !!

I don't think it's the guys fault 'somebody' (que the Daglishv Comelli debate) decided to pay well over the odds for him.

While every player at the club has to except criticism for the underwhelming league performances this season I feel given the amount of game time he's had(i.e. never starting more than 3 games in succesion) that the criticism has been 'over the top'.

Well I don't see it as invalid, as I was kinda mentioning them in the context of gauging the replacements' performance in his absence, compared to him when fit. Yes, they are different and won't have the same effect as Lucas but can have a different effect which can be as goo0d. Though, clearly they haven't been! ;

Everything always has to be reduced to something personal, doesn't it? There's nothing personal - I don't know Carroll, Suarez or Dalglish; my criticisms are solely based on how they perform/behave when representing LFC. There is no personal element.

you dont have debate jamie, you just tell everybody how you think it should be.why are you telling people to grow up?thats just rude. daniels just pointing out to you that we have players we need and you want rid of them and you say hes sniping at you. i disagree, hes having a debate with you and you tell him to grow up, now thats childish. if you dont like wot people say then you delete wot they say,isnt that a bit like if we dont play yor way then you taking yor ball home.pardon the pun jamie but grow up. i cant understand wot you have against dalglish,suarez and carroll. people do make mistakes and suarez has proberly made more than most but at the moment he is a liverpool player so why not get behind him. do you think cantona tarnished uniteds reputation coz i dont. why not take a braek jamie and resolve yor issues, yor gonna make yorself ill

Not a big fan of him at the moment,although he has looked better in the last few games, still think he was way over-priced and I am sure that has been a huge burden on him. As for the future with him, don't know?,still think he is better suited to a more direct style than what we are trying to achieve,dosn't ever really look sharp or or quick enough to undo a strong defense,unlike Suarez, soI guess if we got a reasonable move him on !

I can see where Aldo is coming from tbh, my own gripe about Carroll is that i think he has been let down to a certain extent by Kenny in terms of not getting a proper run, i know that he's looked pretty amateurish at times and awkward etc but i really think a lot of that has been down to confidence.....

He's still young, in fact i would say that mentally he has not fully matured....a little green still...doens't have the guile or arrogance of a young Rooney or Gerrard for instance, but there's an honesty to him which i like tbh, granted that doesn't go far when it comes to him performing week in week out at the high level thats expected but lets be really honest about this how many players have really shone this season??? Skrtel perhaps...?

Its been a collective failure and i don't buy into the argument that Carroll doesn't fit our style of play, it certainly has appeared like that at times, but i think its a matter of him settling into the side, getting used to other players and his role.....getting a more games under his belt etc and we could see a useful asset emerge.

Having a big man in the side up front is always going to be useful in the prem....its a tough league and IF Carroll cxan toughen up...learn a little guile.....and mature a bit mentality...then he'd be worth hanging onto IMO, atm he will have to keep improving, keep focussed and work hard to convince his critics that he's can cut the mustard at LFC.

It's funny though when some of our fans think if lucas play suddenly we will get to cl. Don't they realize our main problem is attacking not defense. I know hes good with his tackling but please count how many time he losing possession. And he's also type of player that stand up for big match but fail to deliver against lesser team. Lucas is not a great player but still a good player. He's a squad at best. If we have a chance to sign better player like javi martinez, mvila i'll take it.

Carroll with Gomez. Really??. You got to be kidding. I will not going to ask u to comparing their goals or assist, but just compare their work ethic first. He always helps his team to defend & checking his run. I wonder if u even watch Gomez play.

"Aldo blasts"? What's wrong with "says", other than the fact that it isn't sensationalising the comments? Drop that nonsense and people may take you a bit more seriously. Personally, although I can see some improvement in Carroll's recent form, he still has a long way to go if he is going to be compared to other great Liverpool strikers like Rush, Fowler, and even my namesake Hunt. Good signs of improvement in his work ethic and attitude.

Nowhere near. I think Lucas is good, but don't see him as strong enough to dominate the midfield over and entire season. He played a more attacking role in Brasil, more like a Modric, and I'd rather see him return in that kind of role and us get a stronger, physically, defensive midfielder.

Agreed, I think his general play has improved, I also think that he is starting to understand his teammates better and I think that he is worth perserving with as he gives us another option. He got more stick than he should have, when he joined, and the price tag probably got to him. That's not surprising but I think there are signs that he is improving. To have that option, a target man, in the squad, it would cost 15 million, so the 35 million should be forgotten and Carroll should be considered the team's target man when required. Taking a huge loss on him now and then spending more on another player doesn't make sense. With the Europa League next season there should be enough games to keep him happy even if he is not first choice in the league next season.

totally agree, the ones who have flopped were the three midfielders who were brought in to create all the chances. If they'd done their job all season maybe Carroll would have closer to 15 goals this season.

We probably can't afford, and probably could not attract, any risk free signings. I actually think that how we set up the team is more important in any case. We've seen a few strikers, not considered good enough for us by supporters, have decent spells for their clubs this season, enough to suggest they could have done a job. Keane, Bent, Defoe and Cisse have all had their moments this season, and yet our supporters have said they were not good enough for us, even on loan. Meanwhile, our strikers have languished.

Seriously, when has kenny proved to be a better manager than o'neill? Have a look at the history books mate. Wycombe fans might say say o'neill is better too, who cares what Celtic fans think? I appreciate reasonable criticism of dalglish but rubbish like this just show you have an agenda. No better than the so called pro kenny brigade you criticise that are too far the other way

Don't see that happening till Gerrard retires. When he first came here, i thought he was supposed to be a box to box player/attack-minded central midfielder from what I read but didn't see how he would fit in at the time, with the dominant presence of Gerrard. Its no surprise that some of his best performances come when Gerrard isn't in the side.

Yes he scored 2 vital goals, hats off to him.....but isn't that what strikers are supposed to do? Us at LFC are accepting average. 2 goals in 2 games means nothing. We need a potent finisher who can actually score at least 20 a season. People say Carroll is good with his head. I disagree. 2 headers in a year isn't really that good. I hope he leaves LFC, not good enough to be a LFC striker.

Well put of course Carroll can be an asset , what's wrong with pass move and get crosses in to the big fella , Carroll has took too much flak , he should have been given a longer run in the team right from the off , not a game here and there , we should of shown some real trust in the kid and built his confidence , every time the lad has played its been like he's on trial " score or your out " , good luck big fella , and fair play to you for hanging in there and not letting it get to you .